By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The way last year ended, it’s no wonder the Conway Bears baseball team can’t wait for the spring.
There they were in a Class 3, District 11 championship game last season, holding a four-run advantage and needing only one more out to advance to sectionals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be in a 16-8 season.
That’s OK, Conway coach Clay Bilyeu will tell you. It’s motivation now for a team still full of interesting pieces.
“I feel like we’re good enough to compete at that level again,” Bilyeu said. “Our district is tough, but we can definitely compete in it.”
Despite graduating five players, including two key pitchers, the Bears have the arms and the lineup that could give a lot of teams some trouble.
Start with the pitching staff. Senior Brody Bilyeu was a First Team All-Summit Conference and a Second Team All-District pitcher. He will fill the role left behind by all-conference pick Dylan Dampier. Bilyeu tossed 31 1/3 innings last year.
“He gives us a chance to compete,” Bilyeu said of his nephew. “He’s upper 70s, low 80s. He’s got a really good curveball and a pretty good change-up. He’s not going to overpower anybody, but he’s got a really good feel for his pitches.”
Seniors Cooper Keesling, Hunter Wissbaum, Tristen Taylor, Lane Doing and sophomore Colby Vavruska also could see time on the mound. Keesling, a soft-tossing left-hander, had a low earned run average during the fall thanks to a four-pitch mix.
Wissbaum could be the big stick in the lineup in the No. 3 spot. He was a Second Team All-State selection along with First Team All-District and All-Summit Conference selection a year ago, when he had team bests in hits (29) and RBI (27).
“He’s not a big home run guy but an RBI machine,” Bilyeu said. “He’s just been extremely consistent, and can hit to all fields. And he runs a little bit. If he can do what he did last year, we have a chance to have a pretty good offense.”
The projected lineup has sophomore All-District and honorable mention All-State selection Logan Fourt, an outfielder, atop the order. He could be followed by Keesling, Wissbaum at designated hitter, senior Tanner Pippins at DH or first base, Bilyeu, senior All-District infielder Brandon Lundgren, right fielder Taylor, junior catcher Noah Jones, sophomore shortstop Colby Vavruska and senior outfielder Doing.
Fourt is an ideal leadoff hitter. He scored 18 runs last year
“He’s fast as all get-out,” Bilyeu said. “For a small guy, he’s also go some good pop. Last year, we good over as leadoff hitter seven or eight games in and we took off. He’s an on-base machine and, once he’s on, he can steal a bag, go first to third or score from first.”
Pippins is a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder whose presence in the lineup could be significant as well in his first year hitting at the varsity level. Beginning with through the bottom of the order, it’s a lineup that can keep the line moving.
“They’re doubles waiting to happen,” Bilyeu said. “It’s just a lineup that can score runs in a hurry.”
Bilyeu certainly has done well in building Conway’s program. A 2000 Conway graduate, this is now his 13th season on staff, 11th as head coach. He is 359-92 at Conway and expects to have 25 to 30 players available – enough for a full varsity, JV and freshman team.
Thus, his familiarity with the players – and the fact they play a fall baseball schedule – gave Conway a chance to work on fundamentals ahead of the spring. Vavruska gives them a rangy shortstop, and Jones is a good, blocking catcher.
“I think they are excited to get out there,” Bilyeu said. “They’ve got that itch. And, really, a lot of our guys are just baseball guys.”
